Raisi: Khamenei’s Shadow in Office

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei sponsors the ceremony of transferring the powers of former President Hassan Rouhani to his successor Ebrahim Raisi, Asharq Al-Awsat
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei sponsors the ceremony of transferring the powers of former President Hassan Rouhani to his successor Ebrahim Raisi, Asharq Al-Awsat
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Raisi: Khamenei’s Shadow in Office

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei sponsors the ceremony of transferring the powers of former President Hassan Rouhani to his successor Ebrahim Raisi, Asharq Al-Awsat
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei sponsors the ceremony of transferring the powers of former President Hassan Rouhani to his successor Ebrahim Raisi, Asharq Al-Awsat

Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline cleric close to the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was elected Iran’s president in one of the country’s most controversial presidential elections held after the 1979 revolution that toppled the Shah regime.

Since 1979, Iran has held 13 presidential elections.

Raisi, who started his tenure on August 5th, won elections that attracted the lowest turnout in four decades. The Guardian Council also scrapped the candidacy of the most popular moderate reformists.

As president, the former judge must examine dozens of internal and external crises and tensions that remained unresolved under his predecessor, Hassan Rouhani.

These challenges include reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement when Iran is accelerating its enrichment of uranium.

At his inauguration speech in Parliament, Raisi vowed to prioritize lifting sanctions and improving Iran’s economy.

Regarding foreign policy, he pledged to work on closer relations with China and Russia at a “strategic” level, contrary to the previous administration, which invested in a policy of openness to the West.

Four months into Raisi’s presidency, analysts believe that he has not yet presented a reassuring program that indicates any difference between his conservative-backed government and the previous administration, which enjoyed the support of moderates and reformists.

Compared to Rouhani, Raisi has shown a greater willingness to comply with Khamenei’s recommendations and the general policies of the regime.

Despite Raisi’s pledge to solve regional and internal challenges, history shows that Iran electing new presidents has little to do with the approach and policies of its cleric-led regime.

Analysts believe that the current crisis in Iran is generated by the entire regime rather than by who heads the executive body. Iran is restrained by powerful parallel agencies and institutions that directly answer to Khamenei instead of the country’s president.

Besides, Raisi has no trouble advancing proposals in parliament or the judiciary as conservatives control the country’s top three authorities.

Moreover, the 60-year-old cleric enjoys direct support from Khamenei himself.

Under Raisi, the Iranian regime has acted on its “deterrence” strategy to face existential threats. This strategy includes expanding Iran’s nuclear program to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels, supporting different militias across the region, and meddling in the affairs of neighboring countries.

Also, Raisi’s government is expected to deal with internal threats by tightening its security grip on protests that will likely erupt due to worsening living conditions in the country.



Ukraine, US in 'Final Stages' of Agreeing Minerals Deal, Kyiv Says 

In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on February 24, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a meeting with the Western nations' leaders in Kyiv, to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)
In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on February 24, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a meeting with the Western nations' leaders in Kyiv, to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)
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Ukraine, US in 'Final Stages' of Agreeing Minerals Deal, Kyiv Says 

In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on February 24, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a meeting with the Western nations' leaders in Kyiv, to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)
In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on February 24, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a meeting with the Western nations' leaders in Kyiv, to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)

Ukraine and the United States are in the final stages of negotiating a minerals deal considered central to ending Russia's three-year-old war in Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian official said on Monday.

Kyiv and Washington are both interested in US access to Ukraine's undersoil riches, but President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said any such deal must involve concrete security guarantees.

"Ukrainian and US teams are in the final stages of negotiations regarding the minerals agreement. The negotiations have been very constructive, with nearly all key details finalized," deputy prime minister Olha Stefanishyna wrote on X.

"We hope both US and UA leaders might sign and endorse it in Washington (at) the soonest to showcase our commitment for decades to come."

Trump has said Ukraine should give the US $500 billion in critical raw materials as payback for aid which Kyiv has already received from the previous Joe Biden administration.

Zelenskiy said this week Washington had supplied his country with $67 billion in weapons and $31.5 billion in direct budget support, and that he will not acknowledge Biden-supplied aid as loan.

Zelenskiy refused to sign an initial draft deal earlier this month, sparking frustration in the White House. Senior Trump administration officials said on Sunday they expected an agreement would be signed this week.